There are, as I understand it, 2 types. One uses egg whites like the French almond macaro(o)ns. The other uses sweetened condensed milk as the binder. Most of us in the USA are more familiar with the milk version.

i, too, am a coconut macaroon whore. i have tried no fewer than 15 recipes. although not the easiest recipe, joann chang's, of flour bakery in boston, is by far my favorite. you have to make a pastry cream in lieu of sweetened condensed milk, but i promise you that the end result is WELL worth it! i would recommend getting a hold of her cookbook. i have made a lot of the recipes and they have all been great!

Wow, so many good suggestions. I'm going to have to try all of these, from the sweetened condensed milk version to the egg white version and even the difficult but well worth it version! Do you guys pipe it out to give it that nice shape?